Simulated experiment research on SESD interference with integrated operational amplifier

Abstract

Space electrostatic discharge (SESD) interference can result in soft errors to space-borne electronics and ultimately may lead to equipment or system anomalies or even whole-spacecraft failure. So far not much research work has been done on susceptibility of spacecraft equipment, especially typical electronic devices, to SESD interference. In this paper ESD generator is utilized to simulate SESD and investigate the response of LM124 OPAMP, a typical analog IC, to discharge interference. Results show that the output of LM124 may generate anomalous transient, the characteristics of which are related to device configurations, bias conditions and ESD voltage. Subjected to simulated SESD, voltage comparator only generates single polarity pulse. Voltage follower and non-inverter behave similarly. Inverter shows the least sensitivity. Sinusoidal waveform from a signal generator is injected to the input pins of LM124 to evaluate its EMI susceptibility. Analysis shows that the amplitude and duration of output pulse are strongly associated with input interference amplitude and frequency. This work has guiding significance to the intensive study of SESD effects on various typical devices, understanding the mechanism of spacecraft anomalies attributed to SESD and developing targeted protective measures.